FIRST TASTE

You know how it feels when you drive down a street you haven’t been on for a while and the surroundings, seemingly overnight, have been transformed? (Oh, wait, we are living through Nashville’s boom time; that surprising, sometimes disorienting feeling is a common occurrence.) It happened for us traveling up Third Avenue South to go to lunch at the recently opened City Tap Kitchen & Craft. Another multi-use highrise. A liquor store. A clothing store. A chain sandwich shop. A wellness café.

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The fifth outpost of the Philadelphia-based gastropub taps into the wide appeal of the craft beer movement, with 60 brews on tap (over 20 are local/regional). It has a welcoming community bar area, ample dining room seating in booths or at tables, and a private dining room.

The food is a cut above pub-grub’s usual suspects. Wings are roasted in a dry rub of 10 spices. Elote street corn dip and chips take the place of beefy nachos. Brick-oven pizzas sport fine ingredients: tallegio, guanciale, fennel sausage, wild mushrooms, orange-fig jam. And there are several dishes uncommon to the taproom, such as rabbit Bolognese, smoked trout sliders, short rib fried rice and avocado-grapefruit salad.

Crispy Oysters in steamed buns at City Tap Kitchen and Craft.(Photo: Nancy Vienneau / For The Tennessean)

Brews are available by the pint or 4.5 ounce size, if you are curious about a certain style, or just need a nip. We chose Red Silo Brewing’s P’nit Butta Porter (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Diskin’s Six One Five Fruit Tea Cider, a local pressing imparting tastes of pineapple-sweet tea-citrus. Think adult fruit tea.

Charred Brussels sprouts in white miso glaze with pomegranate seeds at City Tap Kitchen and Craft.(Photo: Nancy Vienneau / For The Tennessean)

The now ubiquitous Brussels sprouts get a good turn in white miso glaze, charred to super-crispiness and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. It’s a worthwhile share. Crispy oyster steamed buns — fried morsels tucked in bao with mashed avocado, radish, and pickled jalapeno — are appealing in presentation, but the oyster’s compelling briny-sweetness and crunch got lost. We wouldn’t order it again.

Mussels and beer make terrific partners and City Tap has four versions to consider. Our server steered us to the Thai-inspired Panang. The bowl was brimming with shellfish steamed in coconut milk fragrant with chilis, onion, carrot, cilantro and peanuts. For an upcharge, you can order fries, but we found the planks of grilled bread sufficient to sop up the savory broth.

Open Face Blue Crab Melt at City Tap Kitchen and Craft.(Photo: Nancy Vienneau / For The Tennessean)

We were also happy to share the Open Face Blue Crab Melt, toasts laden with lump crabmeat salad, Fontina, avocado and remoulade. There’s also a slice of lemon — give it a squeeze over the crabmeat to make the flavors pop. The arugula-frisee salad makes a light fresh accompaniment.

Service was informed and amiable. We see City Tap fitting right into the evolving SoBro neighborhood, home to both independents and small restaurant chains.